3 teens shot in third St. Paul recreation center shooting in 2023

St. Paul police said in an update Saturday that a 14, 16 and 17-year-old were the victims of a drive-by shooting after a funeral reception at Wellstone Community Center, one of the city’s recreation center’s, Friday night.

The shooting opened up new wounds for the family that had just buried Devin Scott, a 15-year-old who was fatally stabbed in a hallway at Harding High School on Feb. 10.

“The service was a beautiful service,” Devin’s uncle, Anthony Scott told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Saturday. “Friends telling stories about Devin and and sharing memories of him, how they grew up with him.”

That’s how Friday began for the Scott family. It ended in a reception at Wellstone Community Center in St. Paul’s West Side neighborhood. The family left before gunfire rang out, Anthony Scott said.

“Pretty much the night ended. Majority of all of the family had pretty much left, and we got a call saying that some kids had drove past the rec center and shot it up,” he shared.

Officers responded to the community center after 7:30 p.m. where they found three teenagers who had been shot. St. Paul police said they believe it was a drive by shooting and shots were fired into the building, hitting a 14, 16 and 17-year-old.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS crews captured several bullet holes in the building’s glass entryway.

“It was so unfortunate because it was like, I don’t know if they attached it to Devin, but like I said, the family was pretty much gone,” Scott said. “He did have a lot of friends out there, so I wouldn’t not say that it probably wasn’t some of his friends. I just can’t say because we wasn’t there.”

By Saturday morning, the center reopened with the community entering through boarded up doors.

“There’s too much senseless crime that’s been happening ever since his death. That’s all I’ve been noticing and seeing is an uptick in violence in St. Paul’s area,” Scott said.

Friday’s shooting is the third at a St. Paul recreation center in the last month and a half. Five miles away, the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center reopened exactly a week ago after a shooting there in mid-January.
A-week-and-a-half later, a 15-year-old was hurt in a shooting near the Conway Recreation Center on the City’s East Side.

“The Twin Cities, we got to do better with these children. We’re losing them at a rapid pace. If parents don’t step back up and get out here, man, we’re going to lose more,” Scott continued.

The uncle and parent told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS in a interview the week after losing his nephew, he is personally working to reach kids caught up in the violent cycle, but he worries about what more warm weather will soon bring.

“I don’t think we’ll ever get closure,” he said Saturday. “I’m just praying for the families who have children out there, hoping that they can hug their kids a little bit closer because yeah, we won’t be able to hug ours.”

Police did not provide an update Saturday on the conditions of the three teenagers, but said Friday their wounds were not life-threatening.

A 16-year-old who police say was running from this area with a gun last night was arrested, but it’s unclear if he was involved. Police said investigators believe the shooters were in a white car that crashed shortly after the shooting. Two males ran from the crash scene and have not been found.

Wellstone Community Center declined to comment Saturday.